


See Me

by KairiasYami2



Series: hope (comes slow) [7]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: But he's happy now, M/M, Once again I write a sad backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24668821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KairiasYami2/pseuds/KairiasYami2
Summary: Remus is the second-born, the second-best, the second-loved.(Day 21 of '500 word challenge' I'm doing with myself.)
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders
Series: hope (comes slow) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671700
Comments: 8
Kudos: 73





	See Me

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if anyone remembers me saying in hope(full) that Remus is defo in the mafia but that it wouldn't matter to the story. And that's still true. But I took that idea and ran with it for his backstory so I hope you guys enjoy.

Prompt: Oodles

* * *

Remus Regio is born 69 minutes after his brother, and that sets the tone for the rest of his life.

Always just behind Roman, both in their achievements and in other people’s affections. 

Remus gets 100% on a difficult test? Roman somehow charms their teacher into giving him extra credit and gets 105%.

Remus almost gets first place in a race? Roman is the one who stole the win from him.

Remus brings home a certificate for being the best in his class that week? Roman brings home a medal for being student of the month in the whole school.

Every time, Remus works to be the best, to distinguish himself and show that he’s not just Roman’s slightly less talented twin. But it never works. Roman always gets the glory and attention.

Remus realizes he’s not straight, and works up the courage to tell his family? Roman just told them he’s gay, and Remus ends up looking like he’s piggy-backing off of Roman. Roman gets supportive words and countless hugs, while Remus is left with a pat on the back and a ‘congrats.’

He asks his parents if he can have a cat - he has a list of reasons why he should have one, and is prepared to promise anything to have one. Roman, from the next room, bursts in and asks for a dog. Roman names him Jupiter, after the Greek god. He bats his eyes and says “pretty pretty please!” and their parents fold. They get a dog. When Remus asks again later, he’s told that “two pets is too much, and what if the cat doesn’t get along with Jupiter?” Remus wants to cry, because he asked first. He had researched what it took to take care of a cat, and was prepared to do everything to take care of her without any help. But Roman asks with no preparation, and foists most of the dog care on their parents, and they  _ always take Roman’s side _ . It’s not  **_fair_ ** . Instead of screaming his feelings, he flees to his room (and even this is smaller and less extravagant than Roman’s) and cries. He’s learned long before this moment that there’s no point in arguing. They’ll never listen to him.

Remus is the second-born, the second-best, the second-loved.

Sometime in high school, Remus gives up. He realizes that he’ll always be in Roman’s shadow, no matter how hard he works, and he decides that there’s no point in working so hard. He starts skipping classes, not doing assignments. Part of him hopes that maybe this will be what gets him noticed, what will separate him from Roman at last! But instead, it seems he’s even more invisible these days. Without Remus striving to gain even a little bit of Roman’s spotlight, Roman shines even brighter now. Remus is barely noticed on a good day, and never for anything more than a disappointed shake of the head and a “why can’t you be more like Roman, Remus?”

He falls in with a bad crowd.

It isn’t an accident, despite what people might think when they hear about an ignored highschooler falling in with criminals. One day he gets it into his head that if Roman is going to be the perfect prince charming, Remus will be the horrible monster in the darkness. Maybe someone will finally see him this way.

He starts at the bottom, and as the years pass he rises through the ranks of a small-but-growing gang. He’s the right-hand man, and he’s feared throughout the criminal parts of the city, but still,  _ still _ , no one sees him. They just see a crazy criminal.

He resigns himself to that loneliness.

He’s never agreed with hurting innocents or kidnapping kids, and the teen some of the underlings grabbed is an innocent kid, despite whatever age he actually is. So Remus goes to make sure the kid doesn’t get too hurt, and is struck by his eyes. They’re unfocused because of drugs and his head wound, but they stare directly at Remus. Even later, after a fight over the kid being hit in the face and Remus taking him to the hospital, Remus can’t stop thinking about them.

They  _ saw _ him.

Remus hasn’t forgotten those eyes, even months later, but they aren’t at the forefront of his mind anymore - they don’t keep him up at night. But then someone comes into the bar that’s a front for the gang and sits in the seat next to Remus ( _ the seat that’s always empty, because even now, he’s not really  _ seen _ , he’s just feared, and he hates it, why can’t anyone see him? _ ), and tells him “Remus Regio, be my boyfriend.”

When Remus turns to look, it’s the kid. But he doesn’t look like a kid - he’s no longer curled up on the ground, scared and hurt. Now, he’s sitting up confidently on his seat, uncaring about the attention on them, and smirking broadly. Remus gives him a look over - he’s certainly very attractive. And those eyes. Sharp, beautiful, intelligent.

They’re looking at him.

And they  _ see him _ . They aren’t looking through him, or over him, or at anyone else. They are meeting his own, and  _ seeing _ him. 

Remus maybe falls a little bit in love right then and there.

“Sure honeycakes, why not. I hope you can keep up with me though.” He purrs, and leans towards the teen. They seem to be the same age, now that he’s getting a good look, so he’s not feeling too bad about flirting.

Remus is thrilled when the other teen winks and replies in kind. “Don’t worry about me sweetcheeks, I have great stamina.”

“You know my name, sugarpop, but I don’t know yours! Could I be worthy of learning it?”

“Oh dearheart, I’m Damian, but you can just call me Dee.”

“Oh, can I?” He wiggles his eyebrows, enjoying the banter, and is pleased to see Dee blush softly.

In the months to come, their relationship will shift and grow and become the most important thing in his life, but for now, in this small bar, he’s just having oodles of fun.


End file.
